The Shreveport Mudbugs got back to their winning ways as they swept the newly formed El Paso Rhinos. Mudbugs captain Garrett Steele had an impressive weekend scoring three goals including the sole goal on Saturday. The two wins pulled the Mudbugs out of last place in the South Division and up to fourth place. Here is the recap of the two games from this past weekend:
Shreveport Mudbugs 5, El Paso Rhinos 3 (Friday)
The Shreveport Mudbugs got their first South Division win of the season over the expansion El Paso Rhinos. A strong first period was overcome in the second as El Paso tied in the second period. The third-period rally pushed the Mudbugs to the win. Goalkeeper Devon Bobak had 25 saves on 28 shots on goal for the win.
Shreveport started early in the first period with a power-play opportunity as El Paso’s Jan Olegniski was charged with a tripping call. The Rhinos killed as the Mudbugs continued to struggle to take advantage of the power play opportunities. Shreveport is currently 28th of 29 teams in the NAHL on the overall powerplay with 2 power-play goals in 27 chances for the season. Shreveport broke away a little over halfway through the first period as Austin Brimmer nailed the shot with assists from Jacob Onstatt and Evan Mitchell. A minute and a half later El Paso returned the favor with a goal by Connor McGrath. Shreveport struck again when Burke Simpson hit the target to regain the lead. Tim Khokhlachev was credit with the assist. The Mudbugs made sure they wanted to keep control of this game as just 24 seconds later captain Garrett Steele hit the back of the net with help from Connor Gatto and Logan Volkama. Olenginski returned to the penalty box once again for cross-checking. Shreveport was not able to take advantage as the first period closed out with the Mudbugs up 3-1. Shreveport doubled the shots taken by the Rhinos in the first period at 14-7.
Shreveport got another chance at a power play just 10 seconds into the second period as Matt Johnson was charged with slashing. The Rhinos killed the power play. Johnathan Horn from El Paso closed the gap with a goal early in the second period. Shreveport got their first penalty halfway through the second period with a delay of game charged to Billy Feczko. The Rhinos didn’t get a full power play as Phillip Quetell was penalized for hooking and cut short the one-man advantage by 30 seconds. Shreveport got a minute and a half-power play but no score. The Rhinos finally completed the comeback with 3:50 left in the second period on a goal by Nick Turek. The two teams headed into the final period tied at 3-3. El Paso slightly outshot Shreveport 7-6.
The third period saw the Mudbugs give the Rhinos a power-play opportunity as Austin Brimmer was sent to the penalty box on a kneeing minor penalty. Shreveport killed the penalty once again. El Paso continued to struggle with the referee whistle as they were charged with too many men on the ice at 11:48. The frustration settled in for the Rhinos and 45 seconds later the team was pushed to a two-man disadvantage on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the team. El Paso killed the first penalty. Five seconds into being down still one on the ice, Shreveport hit their second power-play goal of the season when Garrett Steele put the biscuit in the basket with assists by Austin Brimmer and Logan Volkama. Ryan Williams sealed the game with the insurance goal a little over halfway in the third period. Shreveport did get charged with another penalty but killed the power play to take the 5-3 win. Shreveport outshot El Paso in the third period 18-14 and 38-26 overall.
Shreveport Mudbugs 1, El Paso Rhinos 0 (Saturday)
The penalty party from Friday slowed down on Saturday night in the one-goal affair. Goalkeeper Simon Bucheler was credited with the clean sheet and had 25 saves on 25 shots on goal in the win.
Timofei Khoklachev couldn’t keep out of the penalty box in the first period as he was penalized for hooking early in the first and boarding halfway through the period. Shreveport was successful on both penalty kills. Neither team could get an advantage in the first period. Shreveport had the shot advantage over El Paso at 13-8.
Shreveport got its first power-play opportunity early in the second period when Connor McGrath was knocked over mid-ice and lost his helmet. The referee armed was raised and McGrath headed to the penalty box on an equipment violation. Shreveport was unable to score on the opportunity. Shreveport returned the favor to the Rhinos when the team was penalized for too many men on the ice. Guess who served the penalty? Khokhlachev skated to the penalty box. Shreveport overcame the power play. The defensive stalemate didn’t look to be broken until less than two minutes remaining. The Mudbugs attacking the goal. Logan Volkama flicked the past to Garrett Steele with the goalkeeper’s back to him. Steele hit the wrister to score his third goal of the weekend. Shreveport carried the 1-0 lead into the final period. Shreveport outshot the Rhinos 19-9 in the second period.
El Paso desperately tried to tie the game and at the risk of many Mudbugs fans hearts in the third period. The Mudbugs struggled to keep the puck away from Bucheler side of the ice. Bucheler fended off the eight shots against the Rhinos to hold on to his shutout and sweep for the Mudbugs weekend.
The Shreveport Mudbugs will get another expansion team coming to town on Friday and Saturday as they will take on the Amarillo Wranglers this coming weekend. Amarillo had a team last season called the Amarillo Bulls but they moved to Mason City, Iowa, and are now the North Iowa Bulls. The NAHL awarded the expansion team back to Amarillo this season. Amarillo has last weekend off. The Wranglers are coming in 0-2 in South Division play as they were swept by Wichita Falls Warriors the first weekend of division play. Puck drops at 7:11 pm each night.
Mudbugs Recognized for South Division Star of The Week
Mudbugs captain Garrett Steele’s three-goal weekend got some recognition around the South Division as he was awarded the South Division Star of the Week. Steele comes from Chelsea, MI. “Garrett has had a nice start to the season. Our captain came through for us this weekend as 2 of his 3 goals were game-winners. One of the great things about him is his work ethic. Nothing came easy this past weekend, so he worked for his opportunities and made the best of them. Aside from the offensive production he also contributed with a strong physical brand of hockey all over the ice,” said head coach Jason Campbell (the quote is credited to the NAHL website)
Goalkeeper Simon Bucheler was also recognized as an honorable mention for the award.
UTRNWLA First and Second Line
Each week Under The Radar Northwest Louisiana would like to recognize the top performances by the Shreveport Mudbugs called the first and second line. Here are the first selections
| First Line | Position | Stats |
| John Hallard | D | 1 assist, 3 shots, 3 +/- |
| Evan Mitchell | D | 2 assists, 4 shots, 2 +/- |
| Garrett Steele | F | 3 goals, 6 shots, 2 +/- |
| Austin Brimmer | F | 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots |
| Logan Valkama | F | 3 assists, 3 shots, 2 +/- |
| Simon Bucheler | G | Shutout, 25 saves |
| Second Line | Position | Stats |
| Davis Goukler | D | 6 shots, 1 +/- |
| Trenton Heyde | D | 5 shots, 0 +/- |
| Ryan Williams | F | 1 goal, 4 shots, 1 +/- |
| Connor Gatto | F | 1 assist, 4 shots, 2 +/- |
| Burke Simpson | F | 1 goal, 5 shots, 0 +/- |
South Division Standings
| Record | Pts | Goal Difference | |
| Odessa Jackalopes | 6-3-0-0 | 12 | 9 |
| Wichita Falls Warriors | 5-4-1-0 | 11 | 7 |
| Amarillo Wranglers | 5-3-0-0 | 10 | -2 |
| Shreveport Mudbugs | 4-3-1-0 | 9 | -3 |
| New Mexico Ice Wolves | 4-2-0-0 | 8 | 6 |
| Lone Star Brahmas | 3-3-2-0 | 8 | -2 |
| Corpus Christi Ice Rays | 4-5-0-0 | 8 | -5 |
| El Paso Rhinos | 3-5-0-0 | 6 | -5 |
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